Former special counsel Robert Mueller testifies before the House Intelligence Committee hearing on his report on Russian election interference, on Capitol Hill. Photo / AP
Former special counsel Robert Mueller testifies before the House Intelligence Committee hearing on his report on Russian election interference, on Capitol Hill. Photo / AP
Former special counsel Robert Mueller has confirmed US President Donald Trump's claim of "total exoneration" is false and reiterated that it's not what his Russia report said.
Mr Mueller appeared on Wednesday before two congressional committees about his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible obstruction of justice by Mr Trump.
It was only the second time Mr Mueller, who was cleared by the Justice Department's ethics experts to lead the Russia investigation, publicly discussed the probe since his appointment more than two years ago. The first occasion lasted just nine minutes in May.
Mueller returns to the witness table following a break in his testimony before the House Intelligence Committee. Photo / AP
Mr Mueller had previously expressed his reluctance to testify and appeared to have maintained that position as he today provided more than 100 one-word answers and deflected dozens of questions during the hearings.
Mr Mueller told the House Judiciary Committee that investigators did not exonerate Mr Trump of obstruction of justice. He made the statement in response to questions from the committee's chairman, Representative Jerry Nadler, a New York Democrat.
"The President has repeatedly claimed that your report found there was no obstruction and that it completely and totally exonerated him. But that is not what your report said, is it?" Mr Nadler asked.
"Correct, that is not what the report said," Mr Mueller replied.
Mr Mueller's report said the investigation did not find sufficient evidence to establish charges of a criminal conspiracy between the Trump presidential campaign and Russia.
But it said investigators did not clear Mr Trump of trying to obstruct the probe.
"Based on Justice Department policy and principles of fairness, we decided we would not make a determination as to whether the president committed a crime. That was our decision then and it remains our decision today," Mr Mueller said in his opening remarks.
But when asked at the start of the hearing if his report completely cleared the president of wrongdoing, Mr Mueller said "no."
"The president was not exculpated for the acts he allegedly committed," Mr Mueller said.
The Republicans used their time to cast doubt over the legitimacy of Mr Mueller's 448-page report while the Democrats went hard in a last-ditch attempt to incriminate Mr Trump.
But Representative Ken Buck, a Republican from Colorado, drew criticism from party supporters when he walked Mr Mueller into commenting on the possibility of indicting a sitting president.
"One of the tools that a prosecutor would use is not there," Mr Mueller said of his team's considerations of the president's potential obstruction of justice.
"You cannot bring a charge against a sitting president."
From left, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif, and Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, listen as Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, right. Photo / AP
Mr Mueller was citing a longstanding Justice Department policy outlined by the Office of Legal Counsel. The official policy reads: "The indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting President would unconstitutionally undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions".
I would like to thank the Democrats for holding this morning’s hearing. Now, after 3 hours, Robert Mueller has to subject himself to #ShiftySchiff - an Embarrassment to our Country!
In response to questioning, Mr Mueller said it was "true" that Mr Trump could be prosecuted for obstruction of justice after he leaves office — although didn't stipulate whether or not he believed that should happen.
The White House dismissed Mr Mueller's first testimony and described it as an "epic embarrassment".
"The last three hours have been an epic embarrassment for the Democrats," press secretary Stephanie Grisham said. "Expect more of the same in the second half."
In the afternoon hearing, Representative Mike Quigley, an Illinois Democrat, ran through a series of slides showing favourable quotes from Mr Trump about WikiLeaks.
"If we could put up slide 6: 'This just came out. Wikileaks. I love WikiLeaks.' Donald Trump. October 10, 2016. 'This WikiLeaks stuff is unbelievable. You have to read it.' October 12, 2016. 'This WikiLeaks is like a treasure trove.' Donald Trump October 31, 2016. 'Boy, I love reading those WikiLeaks.' Would any of those quotes disturb you, Mr. Director?" Mr Quigley asked.
"How do you react to those?"
Mr Mueller responded: "It's problematic is an understatement to say the least — in terms of what it displays in terms of giving some hope or some boost to what is and should be illegal activity."
Mr Mueller told the House Intelligence Committee that Russia's interference in the 2016 US election wasn't a hoax. He also warned that there should be a more robust effort to guard against future interference.
"It wasn't a single attempt," Mr Mueller said.
"They're doing it as we sit here.
"And they expect to do it during the next campaign."
At one point, Representative Peter Welch asked Mr Mueller if it was true that the investigation "didn't fail to find evidence of a conspiracy" despite not being able to prove it.
Representative Val Demings, a Democrat of Florida, asked Mr Mueller about Mr Trump's credibility in terms of the written answers he provided to the special counsel after refusing to be interviewed for the investigation.
"Isn't it fair to say [Trump's] written answers were not only inadequate and incomplete because he didn't answer many of your questions, but where he did, his answers show that he wasn't always being truthful?" Ms Demings asked.
"Generally," Mr Mueller replied.
TRUMP HITS BACK
Before Mr Mueller even took his seat to testify, the president tweeted nine times about the special counsel's investigation and by midmorning, Mr Trump and his allies were already claiming the moment as a victory for the White House.
The president, in a pair of tweets, quoted Fox News coverage of the hearing, including anchor Chris Wallace saying, "This has been a disaster for the Democrats and a disaster for the reputation of Robert Mueller."
His eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., tweeted repeatedly, mocking Mr Mueller's lack of familiarity with some aspects of the investigation and accusing him of playing favourites.
"Funny, Mueller can't understand the Republicans but he can totally understand the Democrats questions. This is a disaster for dems," Mr Trump Jr. wrote. The president's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, blasted Mr Mueller's stumbles and calls for questions to be repeated, tweeting the former FBI director was "being destroyed on credibility, knowledge, competence and numerous 'ahs,' pauses and excuses like "beyond my purview".
Mr Trump in recent days had claimed that he would not watch much, if any, of the highly anticipated nationally televised hearings. But his morning tweets indicated he was following the proceedings closely.
President Donald Trump speaks to the media about the testimony of White House Special Counsel Robert Mueller to Congress. Photo / AP
"So Democrats and others can illegally fabricate a crime, try pinning it on a very innocent President, and when he fights back against this illegal and treasonous attack on our Country, they call It Obstruction?" Mr Trump wrote in one tweet. "Wrong! Why didn't Robert Mueller investigate the investigators?"
The president appeared triumphant after the hearings, claiming them as a victory for him and his administration. "TRUTH IS A FORCE OF NATURE!" he wrote on Twitter at the conclusion of Mr Mueller's testimony.
PROTESTER DISRUPTS HEARING
Earlier, as Mr Mueller prepared to testify at the witness table, a protester burst into the hearing room and lashed out at the committee before he was forcibly removed by Capitol police.
"Kushner and Manafort downloaded encrypted apps on the date of the Trump Tower meeting," he repeatedly screamed.
A protester shouts at former special counsel Robert Mueller. Photo / AP
The unidentified man was referring to Mr Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and former campaign chairman Paul Manafort. Both met with a Russian lawyer who promised dirt on Hillary Clinton at Trump Tower in June 2016.
A redacted version of the Russia report compiled by Mr Mueller's team was released by the Justice Department in April.
